Audio exhalation valve for anesthetic nose mask



Dec. 13, 1966 R. EIMER ETAL,

AUDIO EXHALATION VALVE FOR ANESTHETIC NOSE MASK Filed Oct. 50, 1963 INVENTOR. LEE REIMER AND BETTY EIMER,

W W M T M I ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 6 3,291,127 AUDIO EXHALATION VALVE FOR ANESTHE'HC NOSE MASK Lee R. Elmer and Betty Eimer, both of 100 Robinson Road, Highland Heights, Ky. Filed Oct. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 320,191 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-207) This invention relates to an audio exhalation valve for an anesthetic nose mask. In oral surgery as distinguished from general surgery, nose masks are more generally used than face masks and the anesthetic system is generally what is known as a semi-closed system as distinguished from a closed system which is used in general surgical anesthesia.

In the use of an anesthesia for oral surgery which is usually done in the oflices of the dental surgeon, the anesthetist does not generally have at his disposal all of the complex apparatus which is available to the general anesthetist who uses a closed system and which generally includes a breathing bag by means of which the anesthetist can judge the degree of anesthesia and the strength and timing of the breathing of the anesthetized patient.

The general practice in oral surgery is to use a nose mask through which the anesthetic and in some cases oxygen are introduced for breathing by the patient and the nose mask is generally provided with an exhalation opening which is equipped with a one-way valve. Thus, when the patient exhales the air can pass out of the nose mask but when the patient inhales the valve closes thereby forcing the patient to breathe the anesthetic which is being supplied to the nose mask. Since there is no breathing bag, it is difiicult for the anesthetist to have an accurate sense of the degree of anesthesia of the patient.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide means in association with the exhalation valve which will produce a reliable audible signal.

It is another object of the invention to provide means to give an audible signal which will not substantially offer resistance to the flow of air so that a lower anesthetic pressure can be used and the valve will still open when required, whereby less gas is used than heretofore.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide means for giving an audible signal which will be pleasant is sound and which will be particularly useful in connection with anesthetizing children because it will focus their attention and thereby reduce their fear of anesthesia.

These and other objects of the invention which will be described in greater detail hereinafter or which will become apparent upon reading these specifications, are accomplished by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which the following will describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is made to the drawing forming a part hereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an anesthetic nose mask provided with an exhalation valve according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view thereof taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the reed holder.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the reed holder rotated about its axis 90; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view as seen from the left of FIG. 3.

Briefly, in the practice of the invention there is provided between the nose mask and the exhalation valve a reed holder carrying preferably two reeds of different lengths, the reeds being so arranged that as the patient exhales, the

32%,127 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 flow of air past the reeds produces two different musical notes. The characteristic of these reeds is that they will vibrate at an intensity substantially proportional to the volume of air flowing past them so that the character of the patients breathing can be judged by the sound of the reeds. The reeds accomplish this while at the same time offering no substantial resistance to the flow of air.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing, a substantially conventional nose mask is shown at 1. This is generally made of rubber and is provided with the tubes 2 through which an anesthetic gas or oxygen may be fed under pressure from a supply of anesthetic or oxygen into the nose mask. The exhalation valve of the present invention is generally indicated at 3.

By reference to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the nose mask 1 has a substantially central hole 4 in which is mounted the flanged sleeve 5, the flange 6 thereof bearing on the inside of the nose mask. The sleeve 5 at its outer end is or reduced diameter and is externally threaded as at 7. A nut having internal threads engaging the thread 7 is screwed onto the sleeve 5 so that the wall of the nose mask around the aperture 4 is clamped between the flange 6 and the nut 8. This provides a seal around the opening in the nose mask. A tubular element 9 provided with an internal shoulder 10 is internally threaded at one end so that it may be screwed onto the nut 8 as clearly shown in the drawing. The outboard end of the tubular member 5 is externally threaded at 11 and the end of the member 9 is closed by a brass washer or the like 12 which may be soldered to the tubular member 9. 13 represents a passage for exhaled air through the washer 12. A valve 14. is adapted to close the opening 13 and this valve is secured to a spiral spring 15 which is in turn secured to a screw 16. The screw 16 engages in a threaded opening in the boss 17 formed in a spring retainer 18 which is screwed onto the tubular member 9. The spring retainer is provided with exhalation openings 19.

It will be clear from the foregoing that air exhaled by the patient passes through the opening 13, lifting the spring 14 against the pressure of the spring 15 and thence out through the openings 19. The pressure of the spring 14 against the opening 13 in the washer 12 may be adjusted by means of the screw 16.

The reed holder is generally indicated at 20 and it is a generally. tubular body having a flange 21. In assembly the flange 21 is engaged by the shoulder 10 on the inside of the member 9 referred to above and it will be seen that as the member 9 is screwed onto the nut 8, the flange 21 of the member 20 is clamped against the end of the sleeve 5 so as to hold the member 20 in position.

In a particular embodiment, the member 20 has extending from the flange 21 the walls 22 and 22a which at their outer ends are connected by a wall 2217. These walls thus form two of the four walls and an end closure for the tubular portion of the member 20. The remaining two walls are constituted by the thin plates 23 and 24 which may be of thin brass or plastic and which are engaged in grooves shown in broken lines in FIGS. 3 and 4. The plates 23 and 24 are provided with elongated openings 25 and 26 and reeds 27 and 28 are secured by means of rivets 29 and 30, respectively, to the plates 24 and 23, respectively, so as to lie in the openings 25 and 26. Formed in the end wall 22b is a deflector element 31 providing the sloping walls 32 and 33. These sloping walls serve to deflect the air passing centrally through the body of the member 20 outwardly through the elongated openings 25 and 26 and past the reeds 27 and 28 whereby the reeds are set in vibration.

The reeds are generally made of a thin metal and may be such as are used in harmonicas, accordians, melodeons and the like.

When the device of the present invention is in use during an operation on a patient, a two tone musical note is produced with each exhalation of the patient. This is of great psychological value when an operation is being performed on a child, because the childs interest may be aroused in producing the pleasant accordian-like sound and by the efford of exhaling to produce the sound, a greater intake of anesthetic is achieved with the next breath.

The invention also provided for greater safety in oral surgery. If the patients airway is in any way interfered with, the audible signal ceases and prompt steps can be taken to clear the patients airway. Since the valve is very light and by means of the screw adjustment can be adjusted to open very easily, it is possible to use a lower gas pressure and this feature is enhanced by the fact that the audible signal requires no resistance to air flow. With lower anesthetic pressure, less anesthetic can be used than has heretofore been necessary, so that the patients recovery time is speeded up and economy in the use of anesthetic is achieved.

The most important advantage is in the better control of anesthesia by the anesthetist who can hear each exhalation of the patient and can with much greater accuracy judge the degree of anesthesia.

It will be understood that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and no intent to limit the invention other than as set forth in the claims which follow should be derived from the setting forth of a specific embodiment.

The invention having now been fully described, what is claimed is:

1. In an anesthetic nose mask having a fitting defining an exhalation opening therein, the improvement which comprises an exhalation valve having a substantially tubular body, means at one end of said tubular body engageable with said fitting to secure said exhalation valve to the nose mask, said tubular body having an internal shoulder adjacent the said one end thereof, an elongated hollow member inserted in said tubular body and of a size to fit therein with substantial clearance, said hollow memher being closed at one end and having a flange at its opposite end seated against said shoulder so as to be clamped between said shoulder and the fitting on the nose mask with the interior of the hollow body in air tight communication with the exhalation opening defined by said fitting, at least one elongated opening in a wall of said hollow member, a reed secured to said hollow member and lying in said opening, a closure means for said tubular body at the opposite end thereof, an exhalation aperture in said closure means, a valve retaining element on said tubular body, and a valve member retained by said retaining element and adapted to overlie said aperture, means secured to said retaining element for yieldably urging said valve member against said aperture to close the same, and means mounted on said retaining element for adjusting the force with which said valve member is urged against said aperture, whereby upon exhalation from the nose mask, the exhaled air flows past said reed and causes the same to vibrate, giving an audible signal, and also raises said valve member from said aperture to permit the escape of exhaled air, said urging means forcing said valve member against said aperture upon cessation of exhalation.

2. A valve according to claim 1, wherein said elongated hollow member is provided with two diametrically opposed elongated openings, and two reeds are secured to said hollow member, one lying in each of said elongated openings, and deflector means at the closed end of said hollow member to divide the flow of exhaled air and to cause it to flow past both of said reeds in substantially equal amounts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,016,212 10/1935 OConnell 128-140 2,551,367 5/1951 Fahey 46180 X 3,035,574 5/1962 Lytle et al 128-141 FOREIGN PATENTS 244,763 5/1912 Germany.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

W. E. KAMM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ANESTHETIC NOSE MASK HAVING A FITTING DEFINING AN EXHALATION OPENING THEREIN, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES AN EXHALATION VALVE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR BODY, MEANS AT ONE END OF SAID TUBULAR BODY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FITTING TO SECURE SAID EXHALATION VALVE TO THE NOSE MASK, SAID TUBULAR BODY HAVING AN INTERNAL SHOULDER ADJACENT THE SAID ONE END THEREOF, AN ELONGATED HOLLOW MEMBER INSERTED IN SAID TUBULAR BODY AND OF A SIZE TO FIT THEREIN WITH SUBSTANTIAL CLEARANCE, SAID HOLLOW MEMBER BEING CLOSED AT ONE END AND HAVING A FLANGE AT ITS OPPOSITE END SEATED AGAINST SAID SHOULDER SO AS TO BE CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID SHOULDER AND THE FITTING ON THE NOSE MASK WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE HOLLOW BODY IN AIR TIGHT COMMUNICATION WITH THE EXHALATION OPENING DEFINED BY SAID FITTING, AT LEAST ONE ELONGATED OPENING IN A WALL OF SAID HOLLOW MEMBER, A REED SECURED TO SAID HOLLOW MEMBER AND LYING IN SAID OPENING, A CLOSURE MEANS FOR SAID TUBULAR BODY AT THE OPPOSITE END THEREOF, AND EXHALATION APERTURE IN SAID CLOSURE MEANS, A VALVE RETAINING ELEMENT ON SAID TUBULAR BODY, AND A VALVE MEMBER RETAINED BY SAID RETAINING ELEMENT AND ADAPTED TO OVERLIE SAID APERTURE, MEANS SECURED TO SAID RETAINING ELEMENT FOR YIELDABLY URGING SAID VALVE MEMBER AGAINST SAID APERTURE TO CLOSE THE SAME, AND MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID RETAINING ELEMENT FOR ADJUSTING THE FORCE WITH WHICH SAID VALVE MEMBER IS URGED AGAINST SAID APERTURE , WHEREBY UPON EXHALATION FROM THE NOSE MASK, THE EXHALED AIR FLOWS PAST SAID REED AND CAUSES THE SAME TO VIBRATE, GIVING AN AUDIBLE SIGNAL, AND ALSO RAISES SAID VALVE MEMBER FROM SAID APERTURE TO PERMIT THE ESCAPE OF EXHALED AIR, SAID URGING MEANS FORCIGN SAID VALVE MEMBER AGAINST SAID APERTURE UPON CESSATION OF EXHALATION. 